n8n-skills/docs/INSTALLATION.md

Installation Guide

Complete installation instructions for n8n-skills across all platforms.

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Prerequisites

1. n8n-mcp MCP Server

You must have the n8n-mcp MCP server installed and configured before using these skills.

Install n8n-mcp:

npm install -g n8n-mcp

Configure MCP server in .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["n8n-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_MODE": "stdio",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "error",
        "DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUT": "true",
        "N8N_API_URL": "https://your-n8n-instance.com",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY are optional but enable workflow creation/management tools.

2. Claude Access

You need one of:

• Claude Code (desktop application)
• Claude.ai (web interface)
• Claude API (via SDK)

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Installation Methods

Method 1: Claude Code (Recommended)

Step 1: Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-skills.git
cd n8n-skills

Step 2: Copy skills to Claude Code skills directory

macOS/Linux:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r skills/* ~/.claude/skills/

Windows:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills"
Copy-Item -Recurse skills\* "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\"

Step 3: Verify installation

ls ~/.claude/skills/
# Should show: n8n-expression-syntax, n8n-mcp-tools-expert, etc.

Step 4: Reload Claude Code

• Restart Claude Code application
• Skills will activate automatically

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Method 2: Claude.ai (Web Interface)

Step 1: Download skill folders

Download the repository and navigate to skills/ directory. You'll need to upload each skill individually.

Step 2: Zip each skill

cd skills
zip -r n8n-expression-syntax.zip n8n-expression-syntax/
zip -r n8n-mcp-tools-expert.zip n8n-mcp-tools-expert/
zip -r n8n-workflow-patterns.zip n8n-workflow-patterns/
zip -r n8n-validation-expert.zip n8n-validation-expert/
zip -r n8n-node-configuration.zip n8n-node-configuration/

Step 3: Upload to Claude.ai

1. Go to Claude.ai
2. Navigate to Settings → Capabilities → Skills
3. Click Upload Skill
4. Upload each .zip file individually
5. Confirm each upload

Step 4: Verify skills are active

In a new conversation, type:

"List my active skills"

You should see all 5 n8n skills listed.

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Method 3: Claude API / SDK

Step 1: Install via package manager

If you're building an application with Claude SDK:

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

const client = new Anthropic({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});

// Load skills from directory
const skillsDir = './skills';
const skills = loadSkillsFromDirectory(skillsDir);

const response = await client.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929',
  messages: [{
    role: 'user',
    content: 'Build a webhook to Slack workflow'
  }],
  skills: skills // Pass loaded skills
});

Step 2: Skill loading function

import fs from 'fs';
import path from 'path';

function loadSkillsFromDirectory(dir: string) {
  const skillDirs = fs.readdirSync(dir);
  return skillDirs.map(skillName => {
    const skillPath = path.join(dir, skillName, 'SKILL.md');
    const skillContent = fs.readFileSync(skillPath, 'utf-8');

    return {
      name: skillName,
      content: skillContent
    };
  });
}

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Verification

Test Installation

1. Check MCP server availability

Ask Claude: "Can you search for the webhook node using n8n-mcp?"

Expected response:

[Uses search_nodes tool]
Found: nodes-base.webhook (Webhook trigger node)

2. Test skill activation

Ask Claude: "How do I access webhook data in n8n expressions?"

Expected response:

[n8n Expression Syntax skill activates]
Webhook data is under $json.body...

3. Test cross-skill composition

Ask Claude: "Build and validate a webhook to Slack workflow"

Expected: All 5 skills should activate and work together.

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Troubleshooting

Skills Not Activating

Problem: Skills don't activate when expected

Solutions:

1. Verify skills are in correct directory:

   • Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/
   • Check each skill has SKILL.md with frontmatter

2. Check SKILL.md frontmatter format:

   ---
   name: n8n Expression Syntax
   description: Validate n8n expression syntax...
   ---
   

3. Reload Claude Code or clear cache

MCP Tools Not Available

Problem: "n8n-mcp tools not available"

Solutions:

1. Verify .mcp.json is in correct location
2. Check n8n-mcp is installed: npm list -g n8n-mcp
3. Test MCP server: npx n8n-mcp
4. Restart Claude Code

N8N API Tools Missing

Problem: "n8n_create_workflow not available"

Solutions:

1. Verify N8N_API_URL and N8N_API_KEY in .mcp.json
2. Test API access: curl -H "X-N8N-API-KEY: your-key" https://your-n8n-instance/api/v1/workflows
3. Skills will still work with read-only tools (search, validate, templates)

Permission Issues

Problem: Cannot write to skills directory

macOS/Linux:

sudo chown -R $USER ~/.claude
chmod -R 755 ~/.claude/skills

Windows: Run PowerShell as Administrator

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Uninstallation

Remove All Skills

Claude Code:

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/n8n-*

Claude.ai:

1. Go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills
2. Delete each n8n skill individually

Remove Specific Skill

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/n8n-expression-syntax

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Updating

Update All Skills

cd n8n-skills
git pull origin main
cp -r skills/* ~/.claude/skills/

Update Single Skill

cp -r skills/n8n-expression-syntax ~/.claude/skills/

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Advanced Configuration

Custom Skill Location

If using custom skills directory:

# Set environment variable
export CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR="/path/to/custom/skills"

# Copy skills
cp -r skills/* $CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR/

Selective Installation

Install only specific skills:

# Only expression syntax and MCP tools expert
cp -r skills/n8n-expression-syntax ~/.claude/skills/
cp -r skills/n8n-mcp-tools-expert ~/.claude/skills/

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Next Steps

✅ Installation complete? Continue to USAGE.md for usage examples.

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Support

• Issues: https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-skills/issues
• Discussions: https://github.com/czlonkowski/n8n-skills/discussions
• n8n-mcp: https://github.com/romualdczlonkowski/n8n-mcp

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Conceived by Romuald Członkowski - www.aiadvisors.pl/en